Letter attacking military was incorrect, libelous

October 31, 2013

It was painful, at best, to read the letter of Mr. Borcher Sr. attacking the military and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. More disturbing was the military falsehoods and misinformation which leads to a need to respond.

U.S. cruise missiles are not made in China and libeling US defense contractors who supply the best weapons systems in the world is destructive. Further, his very specific, childish description of an advanced weapons system such as our cruise missiles speaks to an inherent dislike of the military.

While Syria may have one of the most advanced SAM systems in the Middle East, it is based on aging Soviet equipment that US military planners know well. It also does not have multi-target acquisition capability, cannot discern low flying targets, nor is it ECCM robust. Flights of stand-off EA6-B Prowlers operating their AN/ALQ 92, 99 and 100 ECM units would effectively bring the radar sighting of the Syrian air defense systems to its knees.

The beauty of cruise missiles is that with their satellite guidance systems, fifty cruise missiles can have more impact than a squadron of B-52's. One has to believe that the CIA and Mossad have an excellent handle on major C3 communication centers and any number of appropriately directed cruise missiles can effectively blind Assad's military at one step.

Once again, too, Mr. Borcher throws his fire bomb insults by comparing us to Japan and their sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. One has to wonder how many survivors of the 2,386 soldiers and civilians killed at Pearl Harbor would view his insensitive, cheap and callous description of their sacrifice. 354 planes delivered those few tiny bombs. A fun field trip might be to the USS Arizona Memorial where 1,777 sailors died and read that passage of his letter out loud.

As to Assad, politically, he is a dead man walking among Middle East leaders and in his world of dictators. Why? An ill armed bunch of rebels have battled the feared Syrian military to a standstill. The largest reason the US, NATO and other concerned armies are not becoming involved on the ground has to do with the lack of a good end game. The gassing of rebels and civilians has given the U.S. the opportunity to tip the scales without committing boots on the ground in a quagmire that make Iraq and Afghanistan looks like playground games.

However, power, and the projection of power, gain respect. Nominally, Assad, but more importantly, Putin moved the inspection process forward, probably after Putin was shown a map of a few choice targets. We withstood the attack of 9/11 so it unclear what capability Mr. Borcher believes that Syria can use to defeat us here.

U.S. defense contractors and military personnel have been keeping our country safe since the launch of the USS Constitution in 1797. Uniformed, brave men and women have headed into Harm's Way so Mr. Borcher has the right to compare our leaders and the military to toadies and fools.